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Thank You Sir Alex

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Sir Alex Ferguson has announced that he will step down as manager of Manchester United at the end of this season. For the last 26 years he’s taken a fallen club to the heights of domestic and European football in a way no-one will ever be able to match.

Considering he has been the only real constant in Premiership he stands out as a man who has fought tooth and nail to be the best time af ter time. Regardless where the threat came from, be it Newcastle, Arsenal, Chelsea or Man City he’s seen them all off and proved all his critics wrong with each new squad that he has put together.

For me he was the only manager I was really aware of as a child. Growing up in Aberdeen at a time when we were demolishing everyone who came our way winning the European Cup, Super Cup, Scottish FA Cup, League Cup and the league title on several occasions he was the man. He is the reason we achieved all those things – he built teams and man managed like no-one else ever had and made us the top club in Europe.

It was no wonder then that Man Utd came calling in 1986. People often forget he was nearly shown the door in the late 80s because the team were not performing well enough, but it shows the strength of the man that he brought them their first league title for 26 years in 1993 and from then he’s won another twelve titles along with another 25 trophies including the Champions League twice.

He is without question the greatest manager we will ever see in British football because no-one will be in charge of a side for this long again. The future for Man Utd is an interesting one and the possibility of Mourinho taking over and the return of Ronald under the watchful eye of new director Sir Alex they could continue his success for even longer.

Above all else I thought his tribute to his wife Cathy was the perfect way to sign off and shows that he is a class act:

“I must pay tribute to my family, their love and support has been essential. My wife Cathy has been the key figure throughout my career, providing a bedrock of both stability and encouragement. Words are not enough to express what this has meant to me.”

I am sure he will still appear on our screens and be a big part of Man Utd’s future and I’d like to say thank you to the Manager who I have watched and admired for the last thirty-something years for bringing so much joy, pleasure and passion to the game and his teams. Enjoy your retirement Sir.